StLJN Saturday at the Movies: Spotlight on Cedar Walton

From time to time throughout the summer, our Saturday video showcase will offer previews of some of the musicians who are coming to St. Louis this fall and/or next year. Today, we turn the spotlight on Cedar Walton, a veteran pianist who, in addition to leading his own groups, has worked with musicians such as Art Blakey, John Coltrane, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Abbey Lincoln, J.J. Johnson and Lee Morgan. Walton will be in the Gateway City from September 24 through September 27 to play with his trio at Jazz at the Bistro.

The two clips above show Walton leading a quartet in a performance of John Coltrane's composition "Naima" at the 1976 Umbria Jazz Festival. In addition to the leader on piano, the band includes George Coleman on tenor sax, Sam Jones on bass and the great Billy Higgins on drums. Down below, you'll see Walton in a trio performance of his own composition "Bremond's Blues," backed by Higgins and David Williams on bass. The fourth embedded video window has an interview with Walton from 1997.